Method of preparing soles



Feb. 26,4935. s JOHNSON 1,992,213

METHOD OF PREPARING SOLES Original Filed Jan. 28, 1951 removing some of the stock from the attaching iface thereof, roughening the margin of the'at-w Patented Feb. 26, 1935 s METHOD. or PREPARING 3 some Arthur s." Johnson, Beverly, Mass assig'nor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Paterson,

, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Original application Ian uary28, 1931, Serial hol,

Divided and this, applicationJani uary 5, 1933, Serial NO-650,323,

This'invention relates to methods unattached soles for boats and shoesand is here in disclosed withparticularreference to the preparation of leather outsoles tobe attached with ad .hesive cement. The present application is filed as a division of my jcopending application for which Letters Patent No. 1;926,150 was granted.

hie-September 12, 1933.

Prior to this invention; it was common to prepare a leather outsole intended to be attached to a lasted shoe with adhesive cement by cutting it to substantially final configuration, reducing the thickness ofthe margins inthe shank-portion by tachingj face in the forepart and the shank; "applying adhesive cement of the pyroxylin type to this roughened margin, and abrading anarrow outer, band ofthe cement-coated margin'to remove cement therefrom, to the end-that no c e- .ment would remain onthe portion intended to project beyond the upper-crease of a shoe having such a sole attached thereto In somecases an'emery. wheel has 'bee'n used to remove the cement from the narrow outer band of the ocment-coated surface, while in others rotary wire brushes havebeen'used'for that purpose, but

neither of these methods of removal has been satisfactory since emery wheels and wire brushes cannot remove cement without scraping and tearing the fibers of the leather. Moreover, without suitable control; which .has been lacking, they penetrate too deeply at somelocalities' and notso deeply atfothers', with the result that the width and the surfaces'ofthe bands thustreated have been noticeablyuneven. r

11m view or the conditions above described, an object of the present invention is to provide improvements in methods of" preparing cementcoated outsoles, to the end that cement may be removed from the margins of their attaching faces without producing fuaz and the'outer boundaries be parallel tothe of the remaining cement will perimeters of the soles. I

Accordingly, in one aspect, the inventionprovide's an"improvement in methodsof preparing soles for attachment to lasted-shoes which consists in applying adhesive cement to the attaching face of an unattached soleyand, thereafter 7 simultaneously cutting away a narrow .outer b'and in'g the-sole and the cutting element by themarginof said attaching face andby the perimeter thereof to insure uniform depth and width of the of preparing should be. r

8 Claims. (01. 12 146 cement-removing cutirrespectiveof variations in the thickness of the'margin of the sole. v When the marginal cement-removing out is a, beveling out every variation in the depth of the out will produce a corresponding variation inth'e widthfof the out. That isto say, wherever the cut is "relatively deep it'willalso be relatively. wide.-

Consequently, if a sole having relatively thin mar gins in the :shankand 'a relatively thick-margin in the forepart is subject to a'beveling operation inwhich the beveling cut penetrates more deeply into the thicker portions than the thinner por-, tions, the beveled band willbe-wider inthe forepart than in the shank. Thisresult would be ob,- jecti'onable not only from the standpoint of appearance, butalso from that of attaching the sole PAT OFFICE to ashoe, for if too much cementiis cut away in;

theforepa'rt the bond of adhesion between the Sole and 'upp'e'r of a shoe will beimpaired and the upper-crease will'notbe as close or snug as it "The problem of "insuring uniform widthrand depth of the-cement-removing cutirrespective of variations in the thickness of the sole-stock is due inpart to the unevenness of the attaching face of a sole and in part to pliabilityof the thinner portions in contrast to the stiffness of thicker portions of a soles margin. Neverthless, in accordance with thepresent invention, this problem may be overcomeby feeding'the cementcoated margin of the attaching face of a sole past a cement-removing cutt'eig maintaining backing pressure against the margin of the opposite face of thesole at a point" in register with the locality' of thecement-removing cut, and at'the same time:

guiding the margin of theattaching face and the perimeterof the sole in constant relation to the cutter. Under such conditions theibacking pressure will reinforce or brace the thin and pliable portions of the margin; and the guidance of the margin by the attaching face and by the perimeter' of the sole will insure uniform width and depth of the cement-removing cut. Referring "to the accompanying drawing,

Fig. 1 is an elevation pa rtly in'sectionof the right-hand side of a machine adapted .to'be used performing one of herein "set forth;

the steps of the method Fig'. 2 is a plan View of the attaching face'of a V typical outsoleat an intermediate stage -of'prep of the margin of the attachingiace to form a new" dementfreeface-o n the sole and relatively guidaration in accordance withthe method'hereinde scribedp i Fig. 3 is a top plan view 'o'fthe forepart of suc l a sole ata laterfstage of preparation,and ,i -Fi'g; 4 isacross-sectional view through the to run in the crease. margin of the'attaching face 12 has been heyforepart of a typical cement-lasted shoe provided with a cement-attached outsole that has been prepared in accordance with this invention.

Fig. 2 illustrates a leather outsole 10 at an intermediate stage of preparation, the perimeter thereof'having-been cut to final configuration and the margins 11 of the shank having been reduced in thickness by cutting away portions of the attaching face 12 with wide but relatively shallow beveling cuts, the inner boundaries of which are indicated by the lines 13. The purpose in thus reducing the thickness of the margins of .the shank-portion is to impart to'a finished shoe an apearance of lightness in the shank thereof.

After the margins 11 have been reduced in thickness as above described, a sole intended to to remove all cement from that portion of the; sole that will project from the upper-crease of.

the finished shoe but also to trim down the marginal extension (of the attaching face sufficiently to enable the shield of an edge-trimming cutter As illustrated in Fig. 3, the

eled as represented at 16, this view representing an incomplete result of the beveling operation.

It is to be understood that when this operation is completed the entire margin of the attaching face except the heel-seat portion may be beveled as represented at 16, although, if preferred, the

range of the beveling operation may be confined to the forepart of the sole. Nevertheless, some manufacturers prefer. to continue such trimming along both margins of the,shank-portionnearly, if not quite, to the points at which the breast of the heel will lie.

It'will be appreciated that the margins 11 of the shank-portion, in consequence of being'reduced in thickness, will be relatively pliable compared with the stiffness of therelatively thick margin of the forepart, and that the new surfaces formed by reducingthe shank-margins will not lie in the same plane as the other areas of theattaching face 12. These conditions create a problem with respect to cutting down the margin of the attaching face after the cement-applying step in such a way as to insure uniform width and depth of the cement-removing cut. Nevertheless,

the present invention providesfor insuring uni-- formity in both respects, tojthe end that cement that has been applied to the margin of the attaching face 12 will not beremoved toofar from 'ous means, but for quantity production the apparatus hereinafter described has demonstrated its ability to. produce results of excellent quality. This apparatus constitutes the subject-matter of my application Serial No. 511,809 hereinbefore mentioned and is not claimed in the present application.

- The illustrated apparatus comprises a rotary cement-removing cutter 20 partially masked by a guide 21 arranged to run on the cement-coated margin of the attaching face of a sole, and partially masked by a guide 22 arranged town on the perimeter of the sole. A spring-stressed sup-- port 23. is arranged ,toibear against the margin of the opposite face of the sole inregister with s the cement-removing locality and thereby main-V tain backing pressure by which the margin of the attaching face of the sole is pressed against theguiding member 21 and against the-cutter 20. The w.orkengaging surfaces of the guiding members 21 and 22 are inclined to give a beveling effectto the cement-removing cut. Moreover,

these members are spaced apart'to provide a slot 2a through which a narrow outer band of the cement-coated margin of a sole may project to undergo the cutting action of the .cutter 20. Al-

though'these guiding members are fixed they are.

preferably mountedwith suitable provision for regulating the distance between them so that the width ofthe cement-coated band presented to the cutter may; be regulated as desired. The cutter 20 is. secured by a screw 25 to a rotary shaft 26 and is provided with a series of peripheral cutting edges 19. The shaft 26 is journaled in bearings 27 provided by a frame or stand 28. Apulley 29, keyedto the shaft, is adapted: to receive rotation from a driving belt not shown.

The spring-stressed work-support 23 is provided with a stem 30 andwith a pin 31, the pinpose of the pin being to prevent turning movement of the support about the axis of the stem. The stem and the pin are arranged to slide in individual sockets bored. in a guiding sleeve 32 adjustably secured in a. stationary arm 33 by a set-screw 34. A compression spring 35 arranged in the sleeve 32 tends normally to force the worksupport toward the cutter and thus to maintain the backing pressure hereinbefore mentioned. 1

Preferably, the stem 30 is provided with a screwthreaded extension 36 that projects below the lower end of the sleeve 32 and carries a nut 3'7 the purpose of which is to prevent the work-support from rising too high when it is not depressed by' an article of Work.

In using the described apparatus to perform the cement-removing step of the method herein described, the operator inserts the margin of a sole, attaching face uppermost, between the worksupport 23 and the fixed guiding member 21 and slides the sole edgewise toward the cutter until its perimeter abuts the fixed guiding member 22. The operator feeds the sole manually and at the same time maintains its perimeter against the. guiding member 22. While the cutting is in progress the work-support 23 not only braces the margin of the sole against the cutter, but also'maine ging out. As the cut progressesfro'm a relatively thin portion of the margin of a sole to a relatively thick portion, the sole will depress the work-support 23 to a lower level, since the margin of the attaching face will be guided in constant relation to thepcutter by the fixed guide 21. Conversely,

when the beveling cut progresses froma relatively v thick portion of the margin to a relatively thin portion, the work-support 23 will rise under the influenceof the spring 35 and thus counteract the difference in thickness, with the result that the new face formed on the sole by the cutter will be uniform in width notwithstanding variations in the thickness of the perimeter of the sole. Having thus described my invention what. I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:- v i 1. Thatimprovement in methodsof preparing soles for attachment to lasted shoes which consists in applying adhesive cement to the attaching face of an unattached sole, and thereafter simultaneously cutting away a narrow outer band of the margin of the attaching face to forma new cement-free face on the sole and relatively guiding the soleand the cutting element bythe margin of saidattaching face and by the perimeing face of an unattached so1e,and thereafter. simultaneously cutting a narrow beveled face' around said attaching face in the forepart and the shank and relatively guiding the sole and the cutting element by said attaching face and by.

the perimeter of the sole to insure uniform width and depth of the beveling cut irrespective of variations in the thickness of the sole.

3. That improvement in methods of preparing sales for attachment to lasted shoes, which consists in applying adhesive cement to theattaching face of an unattached sole, feeding the margin of said face past a cement-removingcutter, maintaining backing pressure against the marv gin of the other face of the sole at a point in register withthe cement-removing locality, and guiding the perimeter of the sole and the margin of sole.

said attaching face in constant relation to the cutter. l g i 4. That improvement in methods of preparing soles for attachment to lasted shoes, which consists in applying adhesive cement to the attaching face of an unattached so-1e, feeding the margin of said face past a beveling cutter, maintaining backing pressure against the margin of the other face of the sole at a point in register with the beveling locality, and guiding the perimeter of the sole and the margin of the attaching face thereof in constant relation to the cutter.

, 5. That improvement in methods of preparing soles for attachment to lasted shoes, which conafter removing surplus cement by cutting away a relatively narrow outer band of said margin to a uniform depth of penetration along the shank before the sole is attached to a shoe. 1 l 1 and around the forepart 6. That improvementinmethods ofpreparin unattached solesfor. attachment to lasted shoes, which consists in applying adhesive cement to the margin of the attaching face of asole thinner in the shank than in the forepart, and thereafter reducing the thickness of the perimeterof the sole in the forepart and along the shank and removing surplus cement from said margin by cutting a bevel of uniform width on the attaching face of those portions.

7. That improvement in methods of preparing unattached soles for attachment to lasted shoes,

which consists in applying adhesive cement to.

the margin of the attaching face ofa sole thinnerin the shank than in the forepart, andtherea said margin by cutting a bevel of uniform width and depth of penetration on the attaching face around the'forepart and along the shankof the 8. That improvement in methods of preparing unattached soles for attachment to lasted shoes, which consists in applying adhesive cement to the margin of the attaching face of an unattached sole thinner in the shank than in the forepart, and thereafter removing cement and a uniform quantity of the sole-stock from a narrow outer band of said margin by reducing the thickness of said band with a shaving cut of uniform width and penetration. H 1 j i I ARTHUR S. JOHNSON. 

